8 Most Amazing Facts About Sharks

Sharks are one of the most fascinating species on earth. Known as top predators in the ocean, they are responsible for controlling the balance of life in the oceans. Let’s have a quick look at 8 most surprising facts about sharks.

Unlike many species in the animal kingdom, sharks take 12-15 years to achieve the reproductive age. And most of the varieties of sharks give birth to only 1- 2 pups at a time. This happens because the unborn pups eat the rest of their siblings, until just one or two remain in the womb!

A shark has 40-45 teeth. But the average number of teeth a shark has during its lifespan is over 30,000. To ensure that regular loss of teeth is not a threat to the shark’s life, nature provided them with up to 7 rows of replacement teeth.

Scientific evidence has showed that sharks had been swimming in the great blue oceans 200 million years before dinosaurs roamed on the Earth.

Through parthenogenesis, female sharks can give birth to pups without mating with a male shark.

Medical researchers looking for a cure for cancer are fascinated by sharks, as apparently there is a very rare possibility for a shark to develop cancer. Some scientists are hoping to find a breakthrough and cure cancer with the help of shark cartilage.

Movies and books usually exaggerate shark attacks on humans. But the truth is that for 1 human death caused by sharks, 200 sharks are hunted and killed by us.

Up to date, scientists and researchers have been able to identify 465 varieties of sharks. And the sizes of these predators vary so much that the smallest species of sharks, the lantern shark, is merely 7 inches long while the largest, the whale shark, can grow up to 50 feet!

Megalodon was a monstrous prehistoric shark with teeth larger than 6 inches. And some researchers believe that these gigantic species might still live in the deep ocean!